Exploring opportunities to improve retail store quality using rsqs

Abstract

This paper presents an application of the importance-performance analysis (IPA) to identify opportunities for improving service quality in retail contexts. This work builds previous quality scales prevalent in service management literature. Data was collected for customers’ quality expectations and perceptions across two different retail store formats in Portugal: supermarkets and hypermarkets. The results of the study suggested that managerial decisions regarding service in stores should be adjusted to the characteristics of each retail format. Data analysis supported the existence of differences in the IPA, between supermarkets and hypermarkets, notably for quality dimensions related to reliability and personal interaction.